The FBI knew RussiaGate was a lie — but hid that truth

from NYPost editorial board

The FBI knew the Trump-Russia collusion narrative was utter bunk even as it suggested otherwise to Congress, the courts and the public early in 2017. Evidence revealed by special counsel John Durham proves it beyond dispute.

At RealClearInvestigations, Paul Sperry lays out the case. 

Declassified for Durham’s probe, a March 2017 memo prepared by Lisa Page for FBI head James Comey’s meeting with Congress’ “Gang of Eight” — the bipartisan House and Senate leaders who oversee the most classified stuff — was a total cook-up job. 

It advised Comey to present accusations that Trump’s campaign chair Paul Manafort and foreign policy adviser Carter Page were working with the Russian government as coming from a confidential Russia-based source with real intel-community chops. In fact, the FBI had already established that the root source was US-based former Brookings flunky Igor Danchenko’s utterly speculative gossip with an ex-girlfriend and a Democratic Party hack. 

That, plus publicly reported info, was all Christopher Steele (a retired British spy who doesn’t even speak Russian) ever had to back up his “dossier.” And the FBI knew it since at least January 2017, when it interviewed Danchenko.

Comey hid all this during his meetings, and after. Yet the public only learned it years later, once the Durham probe began.  

The Comey meeting where he served up these nonsense stories prompted both House and Senate Intelligence committees to open probes. But that was hardly the only poisoned fruit. 

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, counterintelligence officer Peter Strzok, analyst Brian Auten and Justice attorney Kevin Clinesmith pretended the Danchenko “intel” was credible to get the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court’s OK for wiretaps on Carter Page and dupe the Justice Department to keep granting approval for Trump campaign surveillance (which did not corroborate the wild claims). Again, all while they knew Danchenko had admitted it was baseless. 

For years, the media lionized these people as saviors of the Republic, even after special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe turned up zero evidence in support of their claims. 

It was a purely political hit job from the start, by top members of the highest law- enforcement agency in the land, against a candidate-and-then-president they opposed. For all the justified anger at Trump over the Jan. 6 riot, this methodical and effective deception plot looks far more like an attempted coup. 

Yet, other than losing their jobs, none of the plotters has paid any real price. Comey and Strzok both wrote best-sellers; McCabe even had his retirement benefits restored (after being fired for lying under oath) under the Biden administration. 

Of course, most media have no interest in sharing the truth. They won Pulitzers and endless clicks from hyping Russiagate, using it to kneecap a president they despised. 

At this point, it’s up to Durham to keep exposing this unprecedented abuse of power for nakedly personal partisan ends, though Congress may help out once Democrats no longer run it.

Until the plotters are held accountable, there actually is good reason to worry about the future of democracy in America. 

X22, And we know, and more- June 17

 

Evening. Here's tonight's news:

Senate 'Gun Control' Legislation Crashes on the Rocks After GOP Negotiator Walks Out

Bonchie reporting for RedState 

Senate negotiations over “gun control” legislation broke down abruptly on Thursday after Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) walked out. The bill was expected to pass quickly, and an initial framework seemed to be broadly supported by both Republicans and Democrats.

But as is the way of Washington, the devil is in the details, and who could have possibly guessed that Democrats would attempt to take a few more bites of the apple on the way?

Reuters has the report.

The lead Republican negotiator in U.S. Senate negotiations toward a bipartisan gun safety bill walked out of the talks on Thursday, dimming the likelihood of a vote on the legislation before senators leave for a two-week July 4 recess.

Senator John Cornyn told reporters that he had not abandoned the negotiations, but he was returning to Texas amid difficulty reaching agreement.

“It’s fish or cut bait,” he said. “I don’t know what they have in mind, but I’m through talking.”

As Cornyn points out, it’s supposed to be time to fish or cut bait. What are they even still negotiating about given the framework that was released? With the recess coming up, they needed to have agreed on the final text already.

Apparently, the hold-up involves two provisions: One dealing with funding for so-called “red flag” laws, and the “boyfriend loophole,” which is arguably not actually a loophole.

But in the days since, the talks have become bogged down in disagreements over two main provisions: how to provide incentives to states to create red flag laws, in which guns can be temporarily taken away from people who are deemed dangerous, and the “boyfriend loophole,” which allows authorities to block abusive spouses from buying firearms, but does not cover people who are not married.

Cornyn knows that most red states won’t try to enact red flag laws, and he wants those states to have the discretion to use that money on mental health services–one of the things that might actually prevent crazed high-school students from shooting people. Democrats are objecting for some reason, even though they’ve never previously met a dollar they didn’t want to spend.

As to the “boyfriend loophole,” I’m skeptical there are enough safeguards in place to enact such a law without it being abused. As another RedState colleague recently pointed out, you only have to look at the federal abuse of Title IX to understand what could go wrong.

If you want to understand what “closing the boyfriend loophole” opens the door to, check out what goes on in Title IX sexual harassment/assault hearings in colleges. Without a cohabitation requirement, you are fair game for any woman you went out with one time who wants revenge. If you feel in danger, get a restraining order and stay the hell away from the person. If you can’t qualify for a restraining order, then maybe vindictiveness, not personal safety, is your goal.

Regardless of what’s causing this “gun control” legislation to crash on the rocks, it’s a welcome development for many on the right that recognize the Democrats are not operating in good faith. Joe Biden himself has said that he and his party will not stop with this compromise. So why compromise? Why hand your political opponents the leverage?

In some alternate universe where you could guarantee this bill would be the end of the line, perhaps many Republicans could support it. There are some good things in it, and as gun-control bills go, it’s very mundane, not actually targeting any guns via bans, restrictions, etc. But we don’t live in that alternate universe. Cornyn may be realizing that, even if his realization is a little too late for comfort.

Samsung Signal Flare, Demand Side Contraction, Inventories Too High, Request Suppliers Stall Shipments

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

We have been waiting for the non-essential durable goods side of the manufacturing sector to start showing evidence of demand side contraction in consumer purchases.  There have been subtle sector-by-sector indicators of consumer spending shifts for several months; however, today we get the direct evidence from Samsung.

Samsung is one of the leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and products that require chips.  For three months the electronics sector has shown background signals that inventory was not moving.  One of the more recent indicators of a demand side contraction was the lack of upward price pressure inside the electronics sector.  Essentially, consumers are not purchasing the current inventory, so prices are actually dropping in this segment.  [SEE TABLE 2, CPI Chart]:

Despite overall inflation of 8.6% within the CPI, deep inside the category indexes you will note that electronic prices are actually dropping.  Televisions -9.5%, Video equipment -4.3%, etc.  Video and audio products overall dropped in price 1.4% for May, and dropped 5.2% year-over-year.

The supply chain in this sector is lengthy. Meaning inventory builds slowly as consumers stop purchasing in the USA.  Retail store inventory turns slow, store inventory climbs, then warehouses inventories climb as stores do not need product. The negative boxcar effect travels back to the manufacturer overseas over the course of several purchase cycles.  Eventually, everyone within the sector is telling the supplier we do not need product.  Then the manufacturer has to quickly slowdown raw material.

Due to lengthy supply chains, including trans-pacific shipments, the process to stop deliveries in this electronic goods sector is around 90-days before the drop in retail sales reaches the manufacturer to stop production.  Here is the announcement from Samsung:

TAIPEI/ SEOUL — Samsung Electronics is temporarily halting new procurement orders and asking multiple suppliers to delay or reduce shipments of components and parts for several weeks due to swelling inventories and global inflation concerns, sources have told Nikkei Asia.

The notification by the South Korean tech titan applies to components for multiple key product lines, including TVs, home appliances and smartphones, four people familiar with the situation said, and the postponement of orders involves a wide range of components across chips, electronics parts and final product packages.

The move by Samsung, the world’s No. 1 smartphone and TV maker and one of the leading home appliance providers, is the latest sign that electronics makers are pessimistic about the economic outlook amid global inflation risks.

Samsung told suppliers that the company needs to closely review its inventory levels of both components and final products to ensure stock on hand is manageable, according to the sources. Two people said the move will last until the end of July. One of the people said shipments from that source’s company have not been completely halted but the volume of the company’s planned shipment to Samsung for July has been slashed by 50%.

Samsung’s inventory assets reached 47.6 trillion won ($36.9 billion) at the end of March, up from 41.4 trillion won in December, according to its first quarter earnings report. The ratio of inventory assets to total assets also jumped to 10.8% from 9.7% during the same period. (read more)

Various Wall Street economists and MSM pundits have stated, erroneously – and many intentionally, there has been no evidence of a demand side contraction.  However, CTH reviews of the data have shown exactly the opposite.  There are multiple indicators of demand side contraction, including drops in retail sales units that goes all the way back to last holiday season.

Yesterday the U.S. Dept of Commerce released the May retail sales [pdf DATA HERE], showing a 0.3% drop in retail sales for the month.

Retail sales -as measured in units purchased- have been in a contracting position since June of 2021.  When the current data shows a drop of -0.3% in May, the actual drop in retail sales is much, much greater.  The dept of commerce calculates retail sales in dollars.  When prices are 20% higher and sales are low, retailers are selling less stuff (fewer units) at higher prices.  This has been the reality of our economy for several months.  This is also why productivity has been declining for more than a year.

If you take the 8.6% inflation rate (far understated) and an aggregate drop in sales of 0.3% (again, far understated as a measure of inflation), that means consumers are spending limited incomes on critical or essential purchases like housing, food, fuel and energy.  Consumers are not purchasing durable goods; people are hunkering down.

Yearly retail sales (May ’21 compared to May ’22) are +8.1%.  However, yearly retail inflation for the same period is +8.6%.  Again, reflecting that less stuff is being purchased inside the economy at higher prices.  If the commerce dept was measuring actual units being purchased, we would be seeing massive drops in sales.

Samsung is reacting to a demand side contraction.

This Is The Wrong Time To Compromise With Democrats On Gun Rights Or Anything Else

It’s a mistake to view today’s Democrats as fellow Americans who share the same values and goals but have different ideas of how to get there.

by Auguste Meyrat for The Federalist

This past week, a group of ten Republican senators, led by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, met with the ten Democrat senators, led by Sen. Chris Murphy, in a bipartisan committee to write new federal gun control legislation. According to The Independent, “the legislation will include an expansion of background checks for people under age 21 to include a search of juvenile justice registries, as well as a federal grant program that will encourage states to pass red flag laws, which allow family members or law enforcement to petition courts to temporarily restrict certain persons from owning firearms.”

While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is hailing this as a great example of compromise and placating the “do something!” crowd, this is rather a shameless concession that will make Americans less safe, less free, and less represented while emboldening today’s toxic Democrats to wreck the country even further.

Obviously, the proposed bill is meant to be a response to the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo. Democrats want to disarm potential psychos by placing more barriers to owning and using a gun, and Republicans want more intervention with individuals who suffer from mental health problems. On the surface, their bill seems to be a win-win: fewer guns and fewer crazy people.

Except that these two incidents have almost nothing to do with guns or psychopaths, and everything to do with the profound dysfunction of American law enforcement. There were plenty of “red flags” with both shooters that warranted earlier intervention and immediate action, but nothing happened.

In Buffalo, there were already red flag laws, and no one bothered to enforce them. And in the Uvalde shooting, police officers actively impeded any kind of intervention while the shooter was shooting people, mostly children, for at least an hour.

So this new legislation would only empower and enrich incompetent police officers and punish and disable law-abiding Americans. Instead of deterring these monsters with armed civilians, the government will deter those civilians from becoming armed in the first place. Added to this is the costly and politicized bureaucracy to enforce these regulations on people who have done nothing wrong.

On a deeper level, it must be reiterated that these types of regulations are an unconstitutional violation of civil liberties. The Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to use firearms to defend themselves — according to Justin Trudeau, Canadians have no such right.

Like the right to free speech, the right to due process, or the right to be treated equally, the Second Amendment empowers individuals against all forms of tyranny, whether that be from the state, the corporate elite, the mob, criminal organizations, or any other oppressor. Take it away, and Americans have one less tool to protect their freedom, their property, and their lives.

For people who don’t own firearms, this may be too abstract. Therefore, as a good analogy they can consider restrictions on their right to own and drive a car (which, by the way, kills thousands more Americans each year than firearms). At that moment, all people would be forced to depend on the government’s approval to drive a car of the government’s own choosing or rely on government-run mass transit.

Perhaps some may be fine with this, living in an urban area where they have a semi-functional bus and subway system and few places to go, unless they are rich, leftist, and own a fleet of Teslas. However, the great majority of people would resent being restricted in this way, and object that their right to automobility (which isn’t an amendment, but probably should be) was being infringed.

In response, those who oppose such freedoms could always claim that there are fewer traffic accidents, and the United States is finally starting to resemble the rest of the developed world. The matter would finally rest there, and the government would put another freedom on the chopping block.

As it is with driving a car of one’s choice, so it is with protecting oneself with a gun of one’s choice. So many social reforms may fall under the heading of “safety,” but they inevitably translate to more government control. This is Democrats’ whole agenda. Whether it’s gun restrictions, diversity quotas, ending economic security in the name of climate change, or eliminating poverty, all of it amounts to the government having more control and making Americans less independent and self-sufficient.

All of this is why Republicans need to stop meeting their political opponents halfway. G. K. Chesterton’s criticism made more than a century ago is still quite apt: “Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.” With this new bill, McConnell and the rest of the ilk are celebrating yet another half-loaf while their constituents already suffer from malnutrition. 

It’s a mistake to view today’s Democrats as fellow Americans who share the same values and goals but have different ideas of how to get there. Rather, they have completely different goals and will employ any means to achieve them, even if that means putting on show trials, exploiting mass shootings, and intimidating and threatening opponents — to say nothing of rigging elections, bankrupting the country, and ushering in millions of illegal immigrants.

The time for negotiation and “crossing the aisle” is over, and has been for a long time. Democrats have figured this out and continue to push their failed policies with impunity. Republican leadership continues to play political patty cake while their country goes up in flames. The American people are on their own right now. And it’s times like these where an individual’s freedoms matter most, particularly the freedom to defend oneself.

The Democrats' Racism Is Costing Them the Hispanic Vote

Brandon Morse reporting for RedState 

The Democrat Party has miscalculated what the Hispanic community cares about, but they were doomed to do that from the beginning. The left’s obsession with identity forces them to see very shallow versions of various communities, causing the unintended side effect of pushing the Latin vote further into the Republican column.

During Wednesday’s RedState LIVE! we went over the victory of Mayra Flores, a woman who won as a Republican in a Democrat district that went +13 for Biden during the 2020 election. Why did she win so handily, and in a district that is Hispanic by a vast majority?

A lot of it has to do with the unintended racism of the left.

If you’d like to see the entire RedState LIVE! stream you can watch it below! Be sure to be there every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at noon EST to hang out and chat with me LIVE!

Self-inflicted Damage Control

We are governed by truly stupid people.

posted by Dianny at Patriot Retort

Now that calling it “Putin’s Gas Tax” has once again failed to resonate with the American people, the Biden administration has returned to blaming the oil industry for failing to produce enough oil to address the self-inflicted damage to Biden’s cratering approval rating.

These people are so mindbogglingly craven.

Yesterday, the shrewish energy secretary, Green Energy Cheerleader Jennifer Granholm appeared on CNN to demand oil companies spend more money to increase oil production while she admitted the end goal of the administration is to shutter them all in a matter of years.

Why on earth would an oil company invest money in expanding production when the White House is acknowledging that the industry’s future is on the chopping block?

This administration’s damage control inevitably causes more damage. And all of that damage they’re failing to control is self-inflicted.

Meanwhile, the President who ran in 2020 on the promise that he would put an end to all drilling…

… is now begging the oil industry to pull his ass out of the fire by drilling more.

But rather than taking measures to create a stable economic environment, Biden is accusing them of price-gouging “in a time of war.”

Unless Biden is referring to his war on fossil fuels, what “time of war” is that dipshit talking about? The United States isn’t at war.

Then, his press secretary Karine Jean Pierre tried to guilt oil companies into increasing production and lower gas prices by claiming it was their patriotic duty.

I think you can see why Jesse Kelly refers to her as “Karine Diversity Hire.”

You know, the White House would have a better job at self-inflicted damage control if they just stopped inflicting the damage in the first place. But since that’s impossible for them, maybe they could at least stop pointing fingers, passing blame, and gaslighting the country, and instead simply REVERSE COURSE.

How about these douche-canoes be patriots for a change?

Put America first. Dismantle the bureaucratic roadblocks to US energy production, stop threatening to destroy the industry, and let American companies get the US energy sector up and roaring again.

But these guys are so ideologically blinded that this is not an option.

This is the fundamental problem with this entire administration. None of them is a problem-solver. Instead, this White House is populated by ideologues completely incapable of dealing with the self-inflicted damage their rigid ideology causes every single time.

And heading up this train wreck is a man who has no idea how to govern, is incapable of taking an ounce of responsibility for the self-inflicted damage he causes and is so far removed from the real world, he simply cannot grasp just how angry the American people have become.

Instead, he gets angry at us for not understanding how successful he’s been.

This is why the broken-down old crock remains convinced that his inflation-causing American Rescue Plan was so successful that he grew visibly angry when discussing it earlier this week:

He is right about one thing. He has changed people’s lives, only for the worst.

This isn’t Joe Biden lying, guys. He truly believes this.

He believes that his presidency hasn’t been a conga line of self-inflicted disasters. Deep down in that fetid stew he calls a brain, Joe is convinced that his presidency has been a roaring success.

And rather than reverse course and do the patriotic thing by putting this country and our economy ahead of his administration’s ridiculous Green Dream, Joe and his army of rigid ideologues will just keep careening toward the cliff and taking the entire country with them.

I thought I’d close with this astute, humorous observation from conservative columnist T. Becket Adams on Twitter last night:

in any other context, the story of the biden presidency would be pretty funny! man spends his entire professional life trying to win an office, only to finally do it and discover in the twilight of his life he’s comically unfit for the job.

you spent your entire adult life becoming something you’re actually really terrible at. you don’t get to pivot or switch careers. this is it! this is where decades of maneuvering and scheming landed you: way in over your head and with no exit.

BREAKING: Britain orders Julian Assange to be extradited to US

 Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, who has been in a London prison since 2019, has been ordered to be extradited to the US to face charges of of espionage and hacking.  

Attorneys for Assange have stated their concern that he may be at an increased risk of suicide in a US prison, due to the "restrictions he could face in US custody," reports the Washington Post. Assange was on the run for seven years prior to his incarceration in a London prison, and had sought asylum in the Ecuadoran Embassy.  

The Home Office released a statement saying that "the UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr. Assange. Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the US he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health."

It was that "oppressive" risk of suicide that led district judge Vanessa Baraitser to rule previously that Assange should not be extradited to the United States, in January 2021.  

Assange has 14 days to appeal the order, which was signed by home secretary Priti Patel. Patel is the final word on extradition for the UK, though there are additional legal options Assange and his team can pursue in order to block his return to the US. A further statement from Patel's office said that Assange "will only be surrendered to the requesting state when all avenues of legal challenge are exhausted."

WikiLeaks said this was "a dark day for press freedom and for British democracy," and called Patel "an accomplice of the United States in its agenda to turn investigative journalism into a criminal enterprise."

"Today is not the end of the fight," they said. "It is only the beginning of a new legal battle. We will appeal through the legal system, the next appeal will be before the High Court."

This new extradition order follows a ruling from the British courts in December that Assange could be extradited.  

Assange was indicted by a US grand jury in 2020 on 18 charges, 17 of which are under the Espionage Act. He is alleged to have conspired to disclose national defense information following the publication on Wikileaks of thousands of documents pertaining to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Many pressured President Trump to pardon Assange during his final days in office, but that did not come to fruition.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.  

https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-britain-orders-julian-assange-to-be-extradited-to-us?utm_campaign=64483   

Ukraine moves one step closer to EU membership

 

The European Commission has backed Ukraine's bid to be given candidacy status to join the EU - bringing it one step closer to joining the bloc.

"Good work has been done" by Ukraine, but more is needed, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Ukraine must make "important" reforms - on rule of law, oligarchs, human rights and tackling corruption, she added.

Candidacy status is a significant step to joining the EU, however the whole process can take many years.

The recommendation from the European Commission still needs to be signed off by the EU's 27 member states, who meet to discuss it next week. The French, German and Italian leaders have already backed Ukraine's bid, but the decision must be unanimous.

Speaking from Brussels and wearing blue and yellow - the colours of Ukraine - Ms Von der Leyen said Ukrainians are "ready to die" for the European perspective.

"We want them to live with us in the European dream," she said, adding that Ukraine had shown its "aspiration and determination to live up to European values and standards."  

But it is conditional - Ukraine has work to do, she said, to ensure international law is respected.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that the "historic decision" would bring "victory closer".  

he announcement comes a day after the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania visited Kyiv and backed Ukraine's bid to join the EU - a big vote of confidence for Ukraine that today's decision was inevitable.

Meanwhile in Russia, the Kremlin has been watching Ukraine's efforts to join the EU very closely.

The development "requires our heightened attention, because we are all aware of the intensification of discussions in Europe on the subject of strengthening the defence component of the EU", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters at his regular news briefing.

Ukraine's neighbours, Moldova and Georgia - both ex-Soviet nations - also applied for EU membership shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, concerned that other countries that were once part of the Soviet Union would be next.

Ms Von der Leyen announced support for Moldova - one of Europe's poorest countries - to move to candidacy status, but not Georgia.

"[Moldova] is on a real pro-reform, anti-corruption and European path," Ursula von der Leyen said. "Georgia must now come together politically to design a clear path towards structural reform and the EU."

There are five nations that currently have EU candidacy status - Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.  

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61841598